A Finished Sweater for the Mini
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#The100DayProject has been a great kick in the pants for my knitting. Not only am I knitting at night again, instead of scrolling through my phone, I’m actually finishing stuff. My first finished item is a Marigold Fields sweater for the Mini. I know baby/kid sweaters can be ridiculously fast knits, but the push to do something every day kept me from tucking this away to work on later. I got through the hard work of swatching, and figuring out mods for gauge, and actually starting which was the hardest thing of all. Working on the sweater, even as the yoke rows seemed to get longer and longer and longer, was the easy part.
This is only the second sweater that I’ve ever knit for the kiddo. I’ve got plans for a few others to make over the summer and fall, but this is the second which makes it special. The first sweater I finished before she was born, and it’s a special sweater too. That sweater was about what I wanted to make, and I planned it just so from the yarn to the pattern. It’s a warm, cosy welcome to the family even if she did have to grow into it. Now, well, she’s just about grown out of it. This second sweater isn’t just about what I want to make because now I have an idea of what she likes. And she likes the color yellow. So, I can make a sweater more for her and less about me. I’m looking forward to seeing what she wants in the years to come.
I couldn’t resist dressing up her in the sweater the other day after I’d wove in the ends. While she didn’t immediately wriggle out of it, she did put the sweater through its paces. I’m hoping she’ll like it better now that it has buttons. I haven’t actually put it on her since sewing on the buttons, because I made the next size up. So, it’s a bit big which is so much better than a bit small. She’ll have the rest of spring and the whole summer to grow into it. Probably won’t take that long though.
Finishing the sweater turned out to be more interesting and collaborative than usual. I did the usual first step of dropping it in some cool water with a squirt of Eucalan, and gave it 20 minutes to soak. Then I laid it out to dry on a mat on my studio floor. That only lasted until the Mini crawled in and got a good grab of it. To prevent any more drastic adjustments to the shape, I put the whole blocking rig on top of my printer. The problem was that the sweater was much bigger and stretched out than it had been before going in the bath. Plus, it was still rather damp even after sitting out all night and most of the morning. Something had to change. The yarn, Knit Picks Comfy, is a blend of cotton and acrylic. I’ve had good luck putting similar blends in the dryer before so I chucked this one in the dryer too. On low, of course. The dryer did the trick! The yarn plumped up, the stitches got neater, and the sweater went back to its original size. That’s a win on all fronts. Once I had some free time that night, I sewed on the buttons. The cuteness was complete.
What am I going to do for #The100DayProject now that this sweater is finished and documented? Next on the list is sewing buttons on a pair of slippers so I can finally wear them…next fall. Then I need to get started on a pair of fingerless mitts, including rewriting the pattern for scratch, to match a lace hat. My plans after that are still nebulous, but I’ve got some time to figure it out.
The Specs:
Pattern: Marigold Fields by Taiga Hilliard
Yarn: 251 yds Knit Picks Comfy - Semolina
Needles: US 8 (5mm) and US 9 (5.5mm)
Dates: April 13 - 30, 2019
Full modifications and notes listed on Ravelry
